How do you challenge yourself to break away from familiar patterns in your songwriting, and what techniques do you use to explore new creative territories?

A good way to break away from falling into a repetitive pattern is trying to write from another person's perspective! I usually think I am a friend of mine, or try to think how some relative of mine would feel in a certain situation and that leads to writing songs that I would never think of! It's a great way to exercise versatility and new ways of writing when you find yourself stuck with your pen game!

When I write songs, I don’t overthink the first draft. For me, it’s about getting everything out—raw, unfiltered, and messy if it needs to be. I don’t worry about structure or polish at that stage.

Later, I’ll revisit it with a clearer perspective and refine it, but in the beginning, I just let myself explore. That freedom helps me step outside familiar patterns and discover new ideas I might’ve missed if I tried to get it “perfect” from the start.

It’s not a rule—it’s just how I write. And it’s kept things fresh and exciting for me creatively.

The most important thing that has helped me, is simply being open to listening to different styles and forms of music. The number 1 killer of creativity as a songwriter is being stuck in a single formula. It's important to push the boundaries of what seems possible with lyrics, melodies, chord progressions, song structure etc. If you want an example of someone who really pushes boundaries as a songwriter, listen to Jason Mraz. He is limitless with what he does to make a song interesting, and yet is able to never stray so far that his songs don't feel like popular music.

Melodies and songs should be catchy and listenable, but if we take inspiration from only other catchy and listenable (AKA pop music) songs, then you will eventually find yourself repeating the same thing with every song you write.

I love going through the dictionary to find "new" words that you don't hear so often - then I build a story around them. It's amazing how much creativity it opens!

I actively listen to music from other artists and make a mental note of things that I thought sounded cool, then I try them myself and start creating my own version of them, that way I'm always trying something new for every song.

I specially love it when a song from a genre I don't normally listen to surprises me with a banging topline melody, an unexpected change in rhythm, an arrangement, etc. - Those are the songs I try to learn from the most to keep my arsenal fresh.

It's a great question that I always love to answer and it has to do with the desire to find a new challenge every day. I think that if we don't allow ourselves to use new techniques and sounds our music will sound equally stagnant and lacking freshness. Experimentation and improvisation are key in this process and we can take a little time each day to improve at them!

For me, it all starts with one simple thing: listening to a ton of music. I realized at one point that I was subconsciously searching for the same feelings I got from my favorite genres in new ones. Once I caught onto that, I decided to approach each style with fresh ears. I try to hear what makes this genre special on its own. Now, I can listen to and create tracks in electronic, pop, hip-hop, or death metal, and get the same level of satisfaction from all of them.

Working with others is another huge part of my process. Since I usually focus on the music side, not the lyrics, I always try to get a feel for what the people I’m working with are aiming for. It could be a demo, a bunch of totally different references or even a hummed melody. But it’s through those conversations, exchanging ideas, that I get a feel for the emotion and atmosphere they want to bring out.

And last but not least, it's experimentation. Learning new techniques and playing in different styles\genres is key to everything. I love pairing unexpected things - like metal riffs over hip-hop beats, or messing around with guitar pedals\synthesizers for fresh sounds. Mistakes and odd combinations sometimes lead to cool results.

I think every musician needs to find that moment when a musical idea just "clicks" - when you feel that deep connection. This helps me discover a new creative path, even when I feel like I'm stuck in my old, familiar patterns.

Following the emotion of a song always comes first for me. As a ghost writer I try to get into my clients heads as much as I can. For songs I work on it's important for me to get a very clear understanding of my clients creative vision and story first. Chances are that story is quite different from my own, but also has certain things that I feel I can relate to. It's one of my favorite parts of being a songwriter, to get a glimpse into my clients heads.

Throwing my clients' experiences, emotions and thoughts into a blender and combining them with my own usually works really well for approaching lyrics in unique and fresh ways!

I improvise a lot, because if something feels good, it's good. However, from a more technical songwriting standpoint I try to always be aware of certain structures and patterns in my songwriting. It can almost feel like math at times. How many lines are in a section, how many syllables are in a line? Are the notes long or short, do melodies go up or down, are there big jumps in notes or is it quite monotone. Are the notes quick or long? When do I start lines and when do I end them? When do chords start and finish? What counter melodies are there to the main melody? Just to name a few. There's a multitude of these small things to be aware of.

When something feels too familiar or doesn't excite me as much as it should I switch these up and something surprisingly new can be created!